


First Man

by Camphalfgalra



Series: Story of Another Us [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Growing Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 00:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16713307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camphalfgalra/pseuds/Camphalfgalra
Summary: Sam Holt was always the first man in his daughter’s life, and he always expected it to stay that way. Then Keith Kogane showed up, and he realized that maybe, just maybe, he could let another man take care of his daughter as well.





	First Man

Sam Holt was a family man. 

He loved his wife, Colleen, and immediately after they settled down, he had the desire to form a family of his own. When Matt came along, he was ecstatic. He loved his son so much, and spoiled him rotten as a baby, with his wife reprimanding him. Matt was a lot like his mother, and Sam loved him with his entire heart. But something was missing.

When Matt was four, almost five, Katherine Holt was born. 

The feeling of something being missing was replaced by a large amount of love for his daughter, who started taking after her father beginning at the ripe young age of two. She was a dorky child, but snappy when you did something to bother her. She had her mother’s temper, but her father’s love for technology. She was the princess of the household, and Sam spoiled her more than he had ever spoiled Matt. 

When she was five, nearing six, their elderly neighbor moved out, and were replaced by a family of four who happened to have a boy both her and Matt’s age. Almost immediately, Sam knew that his daughter and the youngest boy would be inseparable, even though they hated each other at first. 

The feeling of pride that bloomed in his chest when she first began to bring him over to play without Matt nagging her to do it was one that he’d never forget, because it’s when a small sense of worry began to bloom as well. His baby girl, playing with boys…a strange sense of overprotectiveness began to take over him early on, even though they were only children playing innocently.

He watched his girl grow up, and while she wasn’t exactly your textbook definition of how a princess would act, she was his princess to him. She blossomed from a sassy toddler to an even sassier back talking pre teen, her and Keith attached to the hip everywhere they went. 

The feeling of overprotectiveness grew on him once more once he started noticing how Keith would smile fondly at his daughter when she wasn’t looking, and how he was the one who could make her laugh when she was down in the dumps every now and then after she would get yelled at by either him or Colleen about her taking it too far when talking back to them. 

He distinctly remembered her friends teasing her when she was thirteen, about to enter high school with them, about the raven haired boy that lived next door.

“Pidge and Keith are going to get married!” Hunk said, laughing when the two mentioned flushed a dark shade of red, looking at each other before stepping away from each other in the backyard pool, furiously shaking their head in denial.

“What? No! I’d never get married to her!” Keith stuttered, Pidge aggressively nodding in agreement. 

“Boys are stupid! I’d never get married to a boy as dumb as Keith!”

“Pidge and Keith, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Lance sang, Hunk making kissy faces at them in the pool.

Sam hadn’t though much of it back then, and let the feeling of overprotectiveness slide until Matt began teasing his sister one day when he came back from college on a break, teasing his then fifteen year old sister over the same thing.

“You know, I would’ve thought that by now, you and Keith would be dating,” Matt teased, poking her in the chest with the butt of his fork.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” both Sam and Pidge said at the same time, Colleen chuckling when the two turned to look at each other with wide eyes. 

“If my daughter dates anyone, she has to be at least eighteen, and when she gets married, she has to be thirty,” Sam said, shaking his head. 

Pidge laughed, shaking her head in amusement. “Don’t worry, dad. I don’t want a boyfriend, especially not if it’s Keith.”

Sam smiled proudly. “Good.”

“But eventually you will,” Colleen teased, “and it’ll be Keith.”

“Ha! Not a chance,” Pidge said, sticking her ramen noodles into her mouth.

“Obviously not,” Sam huffed.

“Aw, dad’s jealous!” Matt said, laughing when his dad pouted.

Pidge giggled, leaning over to pat her dad reassuringly on the arm. “Don’t worry, dad. You’re the only man in my life who I really need.”

“Hey! I exist too!”

Pidge only threw a napkin at Matt’s face, and that was the end of that. Sam’s feeling of unease subsided, and didn’t make a reappearance until her last year of high school, when he realized that what he had feared for so long was actually becoming a reality.

“I really think he might be the one,” Pidge told Matt one day in the kitchen on a chilly October morning before heading out to school.

“You better tell him before he slips away,” Matt said, leaning against the counter, the pair unaware of their father listening in on their conversation.

“Ha!” Pidge snorted, “as if he’d ever do that. We’re like conjoined twins, Matt. He’s never getting rid of me.”

“Aw! Pidge has a crush on her best friend,” Matt cooed.

“No daughter of mine will ever date anyone,” Sam said stubbornly, scaring his children, “not if I have something to say about it!”

Pidge laughed, “Dad, grow up. We’re not talking about marriage here. When that happened, you’re allowed to panic, but now now. Besides, I know you’ll like the boy who I like,” she had said cheekily.

“No boy is good enough for my little girl, even if he is her best friend,” Sam huffed.

“Calm down dad. It’s probably nothing anyways! Besides,” she said, walking over towards him and crushing him in a tight hug, “you know you’re always going to be number one in my life, no matter what guy comes along and dates me.”

“Dad’s jealoussss,” Matt teased, and this time, it was Sam who threw the napkin at his face.

Time passed after that, and Sam’s fears came true when Keith announced that they were dating at their graduation, pulling her into a kiss in front of the entire world. People had gasped and cheered, and he had too, even though he had this strange desire to cry when he saw them walking hand in hand towards the car. 

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Pidge left for Altea University with all her friends, Sam dropping her off on campus when she had to leave home. He noticed how anxious she was to get out when Keith came to a stop in the car in front of them, and he frowned.

Pidge noticed this, and let out a small sigh. “You know Keith. He’s never disrespected me on purpose, and when he does, I don’t let him win. He’s a good guy, dad. You watched us grow up together.”

“Hm,” Sam said suspiciously.

Pidge let out a small sigh. “Dad, look at me.” 

He looked at her with sad eyes, the girl smiling at him.

“Dad, I know I’m your daughter, but I’m growing up. He’s the guy I’m choosing, but he’s never going to replace you as my number one hero. You raised me, and you’ve always been the first man who really loved me. But now it’s Keith’s turn to be that man, and you can’t let your jealousy blind you.”

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Sam said stubbornly.

“You worry; I get it. But he’s a good person, dad. He’s kind, and funny like you sometimes. I really like him, dad.”

“He still doesn’t deserve you.”

Pidge chuckled lightly, unbuckling her seatbelt to hug her dad tightly. “Oh dad. You’ll always be the first man in my life who I’ve loved. You’re my dad; no one can change that. But it’s time for me to grow up, and I can’t do that if you won’t let go,” she said gently.

Sam sniffled. “But I don’t want you to grow up,” he protested.

Pidge smiled. “But I have to.”

He grudgingly let her go, the girl giving one last final hug after her stuff was unloaded before running towards Keith, the two hugging each other tightly while Lance and Hunk cooed at them from the side. Sam could only watch as they walked away, hand in hand once again, in pain. 

He knew that Keith was a good boy, but that didn’t stop him from feeling overprotective. 

The months turned into years, and eventually his daughter had a child of her own. 

He had shown up at the hospital, bursting into silent tears upon spotting Keith carrying a baby in his arms gently, the child pressed up tightly against his chest as he spoke to her quietly under his breath while Pidge watched him in amusement.

“You’ll like your grandmas and grandpas. They’re amazing people, especially your mommy’s mom and dad. They gave her that pretty nose that you have. Your grandpa Sam is a sap when it comes to babies, and so is your grandma Aiko, but I promise you that they’re cool.”

“If my dad ever heard you say that, you’d have his blessing almost immediately,” Pidge had joked, the two laughing as Sam and Colleen hid behind the door of the room.

Keith snorted. “I’ll get it eventually.” He pulled his daughter up closer to his chest, pressing a small kiss to the top of her head.

“Now I get why your dad was so upset when you started dating me,” he said quietly. “I can’t imagine her growing up and getting hitched to some random guy. She’s my baby girl, you know?”

“Ugh,” Pidge laughed, “me too. Is this what it feels like to be old and with kids? The sadness of having to watch them grow up?”

Keith smiled. “I guess.” He pressed another kiss to the baby girl’s temple. “Don’t worry,” he whispered, “daddy will protect you from anything that ever wants to hurt you. I promise, I’ll be the first man in your life who will really love you.”

Colleen took this opportunity to walk in, and Sam had to quickly wipe away his tears as he walked in behind her, Pidge immediately brightening up upon seeing her parents. Sam began to cry again when he was allowed to carry his grandchild, and full out began sobbing when they told him her name: Zoe.

“Like what you wanted to call me,” Pidge said, smiling at her dad.

“It’s perfect,” Sam said through tears, “a name fit for a princess.”

Time passed once more after that, and Sam had one last moment of over protection as he stood in the living room of his house, his daughter standing in front of him in a long flowing white dress, her head braided into a bow in the back of her head and a small crown on top of her hair. 

She sported the brightest smile that he had ever seen her wear, and he felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as he watched her throw her head back and laugh as Colleen fasted a small green necklace around her neck, the first romantic gift that Keith had ever gotten her.

He let out a small sob, and Pidge turned to face her father in alarm. She rushed over towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder in concern. 

“Dad? Are you okay?”

He shook his head before shooting her a proud smile, tears pouring down his cheeks. Pidge stared at her father in shock, never have seeing him cry before in her entire life.

“Okay, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he managed to choke out before wrapping her tightly in his arms, “nothing’s wrong. You’ve never looked so beautiful, Katie. I’m so proud of you.”

Pidge inhaled sharply, returning the embrace. “You’re going to make me cry, and Allura is going to kill me for ruining my makeup,” she said, her voice unusually shaky. 

“I love you, Katie.”

“I love you too, dad.” 

He managed to keep his composure throughout the entire ceremony, and only shed a few tears when his daughter kissed Keith at the altar, surrounded by their friends and family. Everyone cheered, and Sam smiled sadly as he watched Keith pick his daughter and spin her around before they ran towards the limousine, the two laughing the entire way.

He finally broke down at the reception when Matt began to give his speech, he himself bursting into tears halfway through. When it was Sam’s turn to speak, he had to mentally prepare himself before accepting the microphone, standing up and directly facing his daughter and her now husband, who were looking at him with bright smiles, Zoe on Keith’s lap.

“Good evening, all. Thank you for coming. I am Sam Holt, as many of you know, the father of the bride. Before we proceed to do the traditional daughter and father dance, I just want to say a few things to the bride.”

He took a deep breath. “Katie, you were born to your mother and me on April 3 of the year 2001. As a man who had always wanted a daughter, I was ecstatic. You had your mother’s hair and eyes, and my love for technology. You were the princess of the household, giving out commands that both your brother and I followed in fear of having you yell at us in your two year old gibberish.”

Pidge laughed at that, smiling fondly at her dad as Keith looked at her with a knowing grin.

“I always thought you’d be my princess, and you were, until Keith showed up. That’s when my headaches began.”

“You see, I always thought you would end up hating Keith like you did for the first year you knew each other, and then you didn’t, for some reason. You ended up becoming his best friend, the two of you bonding over pranking your poor older siblings relentlessly. You became joined at the hip, and I could never go to the store with you without Keith tagging along. Your mother gave him a permanent seat at our dinner table when you turned ten because of how often he showed up to eat with us,” Sam chuckled.

“I never thought I’d ever end up having to worry about him stealing you from me until you were twelve, and your friends began to tease you about marrying Keith. You brushed it off and said that it’d never happen, and that’s when I first began to realize just how much you were growing up. When you were fifteen, I told you that you weren’t allowed to get married until you were thirty, and you agreed, because boys were disgusting to you then. I wish that would’ve continued when you were eighteen,” he laughed, Pidge doing the same.

“When you two revealed that you were dating, I was excited, and sad, too. Keith was taking my princess away from me, and I wasn’t ready for him to do that,” he said sadly. “You see, I had gotten so used to you coming to me for your problems, and to have you suddenly go to Keith instead made me realize how I was starting to lose you.”

“When you went off to college, you had to tell me to let you grow up because I wouldn’t let you get out of the car to meet him. I cried later that day, with your mother and brother as witnesses. I was losing you to Keith, the man who you were head over heel in love with. Of course, I knew my fear was irrational. Keith was a good boy who I had seen grow up, and I understood why you fell for him. What I was having trouble wrapping my mind around was about how you were growing up and leaving me, and can you blame me? I changed your diapers and took you to the zoo in a ridiculously frilly tutu when you were four, for crying out loud!”

Sam smiled. “Then you went ahead and had a child, and that’s when I accepted that my baby girl was completely gone, and in her place was a strong, young woman who had found the man of her dreams who treated both her and her daughter with such love and kindness. I never told you, but I finally gave Keith my blessing to marry you after I witnessed him cradling your daughter in the hospital room on the day she was born, whispering promises that i had once made to you, when you were tiny enough to fit in my arms,” he said, tears beginning to form in both his and her eyes

“You were my baby girl, but you blossomed into so much more than that. You became Katherine Holt, a fully grown woman who was starting a family of her own, and I couldn’t be more proud of you for that. Seeing you finally tie the knot with the man you’ve loved since you were a preteen made me cry, but not more than when you stepped into that white dress, looking as beautiful as your mother did when she wore it.”

“You were always my baby girl,” he said, his voice cracking, “and you will always continue being my princess. You start a new chapter today with the man who will protect and love you as much as I did, and I am proud to call him my son in law. You start your life today as a fully grown woman, and I am proud to call you my daughter. I loved you the first moment I laid eyes on you, and I love you now, twenty five years later, as much as I loved you when you were born. You’ll always be my little girl who played with toy robots under her blankets at three in the morning when she was seven, and I am really proud of you and Keith for taking this big step. I love you so much,” he said, meeting her eyes, “sincerely, dad.”

Pidge stood up and walked towards him, the music starting up as the audience clapped. Colleen wiped away a tear as Pidge reached her father, immediately embracing him in a tight hug.

She let tears fall down her cheeks freely, tucking her head into her father’s neck.

“I love you so much, dad,” she sobbed, “You’ll always be the first man who really loved me.”

Sam smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Of course I will, forever and always.”

Sam Holt was a family man. He had a wife, daughter, and son who he loved very much. But time passed, and he witnessed both his daughter and son grown up and start their own lives, packing their bags and leaving home. It didn’t matter to him, though. 

Katie was his princess, his little girl, forever and always, no matter how much she grew up.

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to Camila Cabello’s song ‘First Man’ and was heavily inspired to write this. I may or many not have cried a lot while listening to it on loop and writing this, but here’s a small fic that I managed to write up about Sam and Pidge’s father-daughter relationship throughout the story. Hope you guys enjoyed!


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